New Businesses

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many new businesses are estimated to have been established and how many people were employed in them in the last five years; what are the comparable figures for 1974 to 1979; and if he will make a statement.

Between the end of 1983 and the end of 1988, the number of businesses registered for VAT in the United Kingdom increased by 182,000. This was the net result of 994,000 registrations and 812,000 deregistrations. Between the end of 1974 and the end of 1979, the number of VAT-registered businesses rose by 85,000, the net result of 809,000 registrations and 724,000 deregistrations.

Direct estimates of employment in new firms are not available. However, a recent study indicates that between 1985 and 1987, new firms employing five or more people created 1.2 million additional jobs.